Are you starting to look for a school next year?聽 Just like the college admission game, getting into a private high school in Manhattan can be a strategizing and stressful experience.聽 Although there isn鈥檛 a report like so parents can see top ranking schools, there is an unspoken hierarchy passed among parents and other education professionals as to which schools are 鈥渢he best.鈥
Given the ease of the Internet, most parents would begin with a Google search.聽 Something like 鈥渞anking nyc private schools.鈥澛 And guess who shows up at the top: paid advertisers!聽 (If you鈥檙e not careful, or don鈥檛 know the ins-and-outs of how Google works, you might miss that subtle line across the page or ignore it as irrelevant.)
What follows below the line is a listing of organizations that work with all of the private schools and should be unbiased in their rankings.聽 What do you think they have to say to parents who want to know who鈥檚 at the top?聽聽One website :
- Unlike the public schools, private schools don't participate in and publish yearly testing results.聽 So there is no apples-to-apples NYC private school student performance ranking publicly available.
- From time to time, magazines and newspapers publish NYC private school rankings based upon various criteria that usually center upon admission to top colleges.聽 At Abacus Guide, we collect this college rankings data for private schools.聽 However, we find this ranking data problematic and misleading for very specific reasons.
- We exclusively compile Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale, and Westchester private schools rankings based upon our confidential analysis of how difficult the schools are to get into, and what kind of ERB results the schools typically require from applicants.聽
If ranking can be misleading and difficult to accurately assess, the better question is, 鈥淪hould we?鈥澛 I suppose there will always be someone needing to say he is in the 鈥渂est鈥 school, even though that assumption may be challenged.聽 But given the enormous choices and diverse climates among the myriad private schools that exist, the better questions is, 鈥淲hat school would be the best match for the student鈥檚 needs and expectations?鈥
By the time a student reaches the 9th grade, he knows what he likes about his current school and what he doesn鈥檛 like; how he learns best and what type of environment he needs to perform well in school.聽 Keep these factors in mind when combing through a school鈥檚 website.聽 Once you narrow your search down to a handful of possibilities, make an appointment and visit each one.聽 The new school may not feel there is a good fit and won't offer you admission.聽 With the schools that offer placement, have the student spend a day (or even half a day) observing classes.聽 Now you have a fairly good feel for each school.聽 Since there is no 鈥減erfect鈥 school, choose the one that comes the closest to an 鈥渋deal school鈥 for that student. Now you鈥檝e found the best school!